Typee: a peep at Polynesian life
Publisher's description: Almost from the time of its publication in 1846, Melville's first book, based on his own travels in the South Seas, has been recognized as a classic in the literature of travel and adventure. Although initially rejected as too fantastic to be true, Typee was immensely popular and regarded in Melville's lifetime as his best work. It established his reputation as the literary discoverer of the South Seas and inspired the likes of Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson. Tw…
Read More ↓Title Statements
- Full title :Typee : a peep at Polynesian life / Herman Melville ; edited by Harrison Hayford, Hershel Parker, G. Thomas Tanselle.
Summary
Publisher's description: Almost from the time of its publication in 1846, Melville's first book, based on his own travels in the South Seas, has been recognized as a classic in the literature of travel and adventure. Although initially rejected as too fantastic to be true, Typee was immensely popular and regarded in Melville's lifetime as his best work. It established his reputation as the literary discoverer of the South Seas and inspired the likes of Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson. Two common sailors jump ship and are held in benign captivity by Polynesian natives. Through the narrator's eyes we see a literate (if romanticized) portrait of the people and their culture presented in vivid, even scientific, detail. Melville's racy style and irreverence toward Christian missionaries caused a scandal, and critics denounced the narrator's suggestion that the native life might be superior to that of modern civilization. An adventure story above all, albeit one with a philosophical bent, Typee is a combination of elements that even early in Melville's career hinted at the towering ambition he would fulfill with Moby-Dick.
Read More ↓Edition Statements
- Publication Date:2003.
- Edition:Northwestern University Press ed
Publication Statements
- Publisher(s):Northwestern University Press
- Place of Publication:Evanston, Ill
- Language:eng
- Publication Date:2003.
Notes
"First published in 1968 as volume 1 of the Northwestern-Newberry edition of The writings of Herman Melville"--Title page verso.
The Physical Object
- Description:xii, 271 pages ; : 22 cm
Edition Identifiers
- ISBN:0810120526, 9780810120525
- oclc:ocm52208688
- LC Classification:PS2384
- Dewey Decimal:813/.3
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